For her protection, I will call her Kimmy.
She is 30 years old.
She is divorced.
She has 3 children who live in Bangkok…a 12 hour bus ride away.
She has worked in the bar for 5 years.
She works 7 days a week, 12 hours per day.
She has to pay the bar owner about $6 to take a day off.
Once a year she goes to Bangkok for 7 days to see her children, and has to pay the bar owner for those 7 days off.
She has an Australian boyfriend who visits her for 2 weeks in May and 3 weeks in August.
She hopes for a fairytale ending of him marrying her and saving her from this lifestyle.
Her dream job is to be an artist, designing and creating beautiful things while listening to music.
Everyone has a different story, so I don’t want to lump them all together. But most of the above scenario is very common to hear when talking to women who work in the bars.
When I told her about SHE, she said it sounded like a good place, but she didn’t really seem interested…yet. And that’s alright. We have planted the seed that says “There is another option for you. You don’t have to settle here because you’re comfortable and it’s what you know. YOU ARE MORE.”
So I will keep going back to visit her. And praying that God stirs up her heart the desire to get out of the bars and a realization that she does have a choice! She deserves better!
Please join me in that prayer.
